When you think of Bernie Sanders, it is easy to picture the presidential candidate’s slightly unkempt white hair and glasses.
But, Mr Sanders wasn’t always the grandfather-esque man he is today, and the revelation has some people shocked.
On Tuesday, two pictures began circulating on Twitter of the Vermont senator from his younger years and they’ve left fans of the presidential candidate swooning.
“Young Bernie Sanders has incredible podcast dude energy,” the pictures, showing the politician with curly dark hair and glasses, are captioned.
The post has since been liked more than 47,000 times by people agreeing with the attractive-yet-smart assessment of the young Mr Sanders.
“I’m very attracted to him,” one person tweeted, while another said: “I’m envious of those curls.”
“I want to get lost in those curls,” someone else commented.
The pictures also prompted comparisons between the 78-year-old’s appearance during his younger years and various other notable people, including comedian Richard Ayoade, Jemaine Clement, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney and Andy Samberg.
While the exact time period of the photos is unknown, the pictures appear to be from a school yearbook, possibly taken during Mr Sanders’ time at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, where he ran track.
According to the senator’s own memory of his time as a runner, his best mile time was 4:37.
The pictures could also be from Mr Sanders’ college years at the University of Chicago prior to his graduation in 1964.
Mr Sanders is not the only presidential nominee whose younger appearance has been the subject of praise recently. In October 2019, a photo of Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren from 1979 gained attention over what many called a picture of her in the “perfect” pair of jeans.
“I’m so sorry I know this is so irrelevant and probably counterproductive but can we discuss the bangin’ denim choices of Elizabeth Warren circa 1979?” writer Summer Brennan wrote on Twitter at the time. “I want these jeans.”
Mr Sanders, Ms Warren, Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg, who are all in their 70s, are the oldest Democratic candidates running for president.
